Pickup trucks come equipped with a tailgate that keeps the contents of the truck bed from falling out. This tailgate, since it is a wall-like air dam when in its normal up position, has a very high aerodynamic drag. A means to reduce the tailgate air drag is available in the form of a net that is installed after removal of the tailgate. Commercially available versions of this net have rectangular openings and rather wide rectangular net members so they still have a noticeable air drag. Further, they cannot be closed completely so small articles, sand, etc. can still escape out the back of the truck bed.
There is no means to control the air flow or to obtain a positive or negative lifting force from the standard pickup truck tailgate. My instant invention offers a tailgate with rotatable attachments. The instant inventive tailgate offers minimum aerodynamic drag and a means to generate a positive or negative lifting force. It can also be locked in a closed position so that hauling of small articles, sand, etc. can be accomplished without loss of same from the truck bed. An optional version is powered by a drive motor that rotates and controls positioning of the tailgate. It is normally easily installed using existing truck tailgate fastening hardware. I refer to this invention as the Flying Tailgate or simply Flying Tail.
There is one attempt at using the standard truck tailgate to impose a downward force component on the rear end of a pickup truck. This is a unit called the "WING DING TAILGATE" that is trademarked and made by the H. E. Corporation or Aeronamics, Walnut Creek, Calif. 94596. They have advertised this product in Sport Truck Magazine. It is simply a set of brackets that mounts the standard truck tailgate above and proximal the rear of the bed of the pickup truck. There is another design, available from several manufacturers, that simply fixedly mounts a small rear spoiler above the rear part of the pickup bed. An example of this rear spoiler is shown in an advertisement in the January, 1993 issue of MINITRUCKIN' magazine. It is made by Street Effects, Desoto, Tex. As fixedly mounted, either the "WIND DING TAILGATE" or the rear spoiler is angled down at its forward end to provide a downward force on the rear of the pickup truck. However, neither is rotatable or adjustable and neither uses the standard tailgate attachment hardware that is affixed to the truck body. Further, they do not offer a motor drive for rotation power. As such, they offer little resemblance to the instant invention.